The Portland daily press., 1887-11-19


opinion as to their true value. With this
idea in my head l visited one diamond mer-
chants shop after another, till at last
found man in a quiet street oil HolDorn
who remembered az elderly Frenchwoman
calling and showing him pair of earrings,
just about the time when the West End
jeweller had had the trinket offered to him.
"Was it anything like this?" l asked pro
ducing the sketch which the Jewelier had
made for me.
'That is very like, as far as remember,
was the answer "The lady said she did not
want to part with the earrings-she only
wanted to know whether the stones were
real or not"
As the diamond merchant was speaking
the door opened and Short stout woman,
dressed in black and wearing thick black
veil. entered the room.
The jeweller threw me glance as he went
forward to meet the stranger.
"You were SO very kind" she began,
speaking with slight French accent, ''as TO
give me an opinion about trinket short
time ago. win you be so good as to tell me
whether these stones are real?" As she
spoke she laid cross of brilliants ON the
table. just glaEced at it. 1t correspondent
exactly to the description had had of Lady
Pinkerton's diamond pendant. The dia-
mond merchant took up the cross.
"They are only paste" said he, after a
moments glance at the ornament 81 never
saw better limitations. but not one Of these
stones is real"
10 lodi inf
She thanked the jeweller and left the shop.
OF course | followed her home, and arrested
her on her own doorstep. She was, found,
Nine. Brancilleau a fashionable dressmaker.
In one of her boxes l found whole set of
diamond rnaments--necklace, pendant,
tiara and earrings complete.
Madame Brancilleau burst into tears and
loudly protested her innocence, but refused
to give any account of the jewels until she
was convinced that we meant to take her to
the police station. Then the whole truth
came out. The ornaments had been given
her by Lady Pinkerton herself! Her lady
ship had found it impossible to array her
self as became woman Of fashion upon the
very slender allowance which she had re-
ceived from her husband for that purpose,
and had run up tremendous bill at Mad
anne Brancilleaus. The dressmaker, who
had lost money in some foolish investments
she had made, pressed the lady for payment.
She dared not let her husband know of her
extravaganza, and, as she did not believe
that he would pay her debts, there was
little use in applying to him. At last, on the
very day of her starting for Northumber-
land, she gave the jewels to the dressmaker
in payment of her debt, the Frenchwoman
undertaking to dispose of the stones separate
ly. Thus the trinkets had never been in the
jewel case at all, and Lady Pinkerton gave
out that she had been robbed in order to ac-
count to her husband and the world for the
loss of her diamonds.
Lady Pinkerton was astounded to hear
that her magnificent diamonds were nothing
but paste; and after some trouble she had
persuaded madame to submit the pendant to
an expert for examination. That, at least,
she thought, might be real.
On hearing this story l took the French
woman and the false diamonds straight to
Lady Pinkertons house. His lordship and
Lady Pinkerton were together.
cApcCtcu Il oCcHcs Ddt tile lduy WAS eQudl
to the occasion She went straight to the
heart of the matter.
"John," she said, speaking to her hus-
band, "you must have sold my diamonds
and had paste put in their place soon
after we were married. Lord Pinkerton
started, blushed and said nothing.l You
really ought to have mentioned it, and then
all this fuss would have been saved | think
the best thing you can do now is to pay this
good woman's bill, and give poor Wright a
check for $50, as some compensation for the
trouble we have been the means of causing
her. Oh, yes | insist on it. Don't go,
madame, and Lord Pinkerton win write you
a check"
OF course Lord Pinkerton could not afford
to let the story get abroad, so (after a severe
inward struggled he did as he was told.
Shortly afterward Lady Pinkerton blazed
forth in splendid set of rubies, which, she
said, her husband had been so kind as to
give her in lieu of her lost diamonds.
As for Inc, got my ESQ and was satisfied.
/ understood now why his lordship had been
so unwilling to offer a reward for the recov
erv of his xyifp's diamonds